Jan 2015

2015 JAN 1 Six mums had a nice start to the new year when they all gave birth in Warrington Hospital on the first day of 2015.

2015 JAN 1 Warrington residents receiving New Year Honours include Alan Boyle (MBE) for services to swimming and water polo, Dr Gillian Davies (MBE) for services to the dental industry and RAF warrant officer Sandra Flatt (MBE) for services to the MoD. Other recipients included head teacher John Peter Robert Dahlstrom (OBE) for services to education, Aslam Rashud (MBE) for services to education in Wales and Maureen Higham (BEM – British Empire Medal) for services to children and the community in Radley Common. Finally, Valerie Allen from Croft, (MBE) for services to business and the community and former MEP Brian Simpson received an OBE for parliamentary and political service.

2015 JAN 1 The Warrington Guardian’s front page story reports on sex, violence and drunken brawl allegations at town centre nightclubs. The council began reviewing the licences of Shenanigans on Bridge Street and Voodoo at Market Gate. Fusion on Bridge Street was given permission to reopen in March 2015 after the police and council officials closed the venue in December.

2015 JAN Warrington Borough Council encourages residents to take part in the Change4Life sugar swap initiative. For more visit change4life. Personally, I think the manufacturers should include alternatives to sugar in the products we buy.

2015 JAN Eight-year-old heart surgery patient Adam Brassington raised £100 for the British Heart Foundation by organising a shoe box appeal to raise funds at his local Link club.

2015 JAN Warrington Borough Council’s adult and community learning service was given an ‘adequate’ rating by OFSTED, down from a previous rating of ‘good’. The survey took place from 14-17 October 2014.

2015 JAN According to a GMB study, Warrington was one of the towns hardest hit by the recession in the north west. The study of official earnings date shows that between April 2008 and April 2014 the ‘real’ salaries of residents dipped by 23.8%.

2015 JAN 7 A wooden reindeer made by a charity for disabled adults, which had been stolen just before Christmas, was returned to the Farmers Arms pub in Fearnhead by the person who had stolen it. The culprit has been barred from the pub.

2015 JAN 7 The planning committee at Warrington Borough Council approved plans to refurbish the bowling pavilion at Alexandra Park in Stockton Heath.

2015 JAN 9 Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne visited Warrington for discussions with councillors and business leaders about the economy and Warrington’s importance due to its location. The Prime Minister also hinted at a new bridge over the Mersey at Warrington.

2015 JAN 10 The official opening of the YMCA furniture help and recycle project took place at the Old Schoolroom at 1a Academy Place.

2015 JAN 15 Warrington Wolves completed a controversial sponsorship deal with an electronic cigarette company. They also allowed fans to ‘smoke’ on the terraces, but reversed that decision on 23 January 2015.

2015 JAN 15 The Warrington Guardian reports that the Bridge Inn pub in Burtonwood has been demolished after the building was deemed too dangerous to be left standing. The pub closed in January 2014.

2015 JAN It is announced that murdered Warrington Teenager Shafilea Ahmed, who was killed by her parents in 2003, will forever be remembered in an annual memorial day on her birthday, 14 July. Read more at www.karmanirvana.org.uk.

2015 JAN A Penketh couple raised £320 for Parkinson’s UK from their Christmas lights display at their house. At their previous home on the Wirral they raised over £2,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice from their Christmas lights over a number of years.

2015 JAN 18 A bit of snow in Warrington.

2015 JAN Orford-born author Chris Emmett was delighted to see his autobiography Hong Kong Police Man top the bestsellers list. Mr Emmett is now retired and lives in North Yorkshire.

2015 JAN St Thomas’ Church in Stockton Heath added 42 names of fallen servicemen and women to a book to ensure they were not forgotten.

2015 JAN Former school international hockey player for Wales, Gwyn Williams, became the new head at Lymm High School.

2015 JAN Newton-based drinks company Vimto raised over £100,000 for Warrington Youth Club during 2014, double the target they hope for.

2015 JAN Morrisons supermarket announced a two-hour parking limit at their Wilderspool store, with an £85 fine for misuse. They said it was to help customers find parking spaces, but customers were not happy with the new rule.

2015 JAN The Bridge Inn pub in Burtonwood was demolished after the building was deemed too dangerous to be left standing. The Elm Tree pub in the village is also due to be demolished on 2 February 2015.

2015 JAN Poulton with Fearnhead Parish Council donated £500 so leaflets can be printed to promote the New Cut Heritage and Ecology Trail off Manchester Road.

2015 JAN Warrington Borough Council approved a plan to revamp Dallam Park playing fields on Longshaw Street, which will include a floodlit games area and a cycle track. Bank Quay Bulls rugby league club currently uses the field.

2015 JAN Baby signing classes began in Stockton Heath. The project allows parents to have a form of communication with their tots before they can speak. Read more at www.tinytalk.co.uk.

2015 JAN Culcheth Rotary Club raised more than £13,000 for charity within its community activities throughout 2014.

2015 JAN 19 A ‘micro earthquake’ was recorded in Warrington by the British Geological Survey. Clocking in at 1.3 magnitude at 3.16am, the quake was the equivalent of a single stick of dynamite exploding or a small construction blast, according to the experts.

2015 JAN Statistics show that Warrington is the number one location for employment in the UK with 79.8% of the town’s population in work. Read more at Warrington Guardian.

2015 JAN Lloyds Banking Group Credit Union Development Fund has donated £20,000 to Warrington Credit Union to help the service raise awareness of financial opportunities that are available to residents.

2015 JAN 24 Ken Dodd performed at the Parr Hall, accompanied by Warrington-based British Sign Language Signing Choir, who sang along to his signature tune “Happiness”.

2015 JAN 25 Birchwood’s Cinnamon Park has been chosen as the European site by nuclear and waste management company Kurion. Warrington was chosen over Paris, Rome and London. See Warrington Guardian.

2015 JAN Golden Square shopping centre announced a 4% increase in footfall with more than 12.7 million shoppers during 2014.

2015 JAN The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, based in the town centre, received £300,000 in grants from Cheshire Police, the NHS, Warrington Borough Council and Cheshire’s crime commissioner.

2015 JAN 26 Warrington Borough Council agreed in a committee meeting to increase the number of elected councillors from 57 to 58 ahead of public consultation. The final decision will be made by the Boundary Commission after public consultation.

2015 JAN 26 Bus users in Warrington complained against changes to routes and times by Network Warrington, which came into effect today. Some evening routes have been scrapped altogether.

2015 JAN 27 Deputy Mayor Cllr Geoff Settle led Warrington’s part in Holocaust Memorial Day in a commemoration ceremony at the Town Hall. The event marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

2015 JAN 29 Snow in Warrington.

2015 JAN 29 A new £70 million high level bridge spanning the Mersey in south Warrington is given the go-ahead by the government. Work on a smaller bridge from Chester Road to Slutchers Lane is scheduled to begin in 2016.

2015 JAN 30 Golden Square Shopping Centre announced they had won a Loo of the Year award from the British Toilet Association.

2015 JAN A 14-year-old boy was forced to apologise to Golden Square management after he was identified as the culprit who set off a smoke bomb and caused the evacuation of the shopping centre earlier in the month. He verbally apologised to the staff in the presence of Cheshire Police.

2015 JAN A campaign in memory of Padgate biker Jack Bellis, who was 19 when he was killed in 2012, is set to be rolled out across Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the FIA, the world motoring body.

2015 Jan 30 Members of Cinnamon Brow Residents Association (CIMBRA) celebrated a grant of £67,000 to upgrade a children’s play area. The funding comes from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited), with £10,000 of it from Muir Housing. It comes after Warrington Borough Council apologised for wrongly saying the money was agreed six months earlier. See Warrington Guardian for more.

Feb 2015

2015 Feb 2 Rebekah Jones, an alto, 22, from Lymm joined seven other young singers from across the country who had been selected for the National Youth Chamber Choir’s inaugural fellowship programme. Since graduating from Kings College London, Rebekah has worked as a professional freelance singer. Read more in Warrington-Worldwide.

2015 Feb 3 Warrington-Worldwide reports that the borough council is set to fund its contribution to the redevelopment of the former Mr Smiths nightclub into a youth zone, provided a proper business plan is place, among other conditions. There was uncertainty because of disagreements in committee in November 2014.

2015 Feb 3 The Warrington Guardian reports that Warrington Borough Council gave the owner of the King’s Head pub on Winwick Street until 29 October 2015 to remove a conservatory which was erected without planning permission.

2015 Feb 4 Warrington-WorldwideWarrington Borough Council launched a review of its electoral cycle with a proposal to move to whole council elections from 2016. The existing approach was to elect a third of the council each year for three years and then have a year without an election.

2015 Feb 4 The Warrington Guardian reports that ten primary schools are set to provide a helping hand in the transformation of Bridge Street by assisting in a project to design artwork for hoardings that will surround the area.

2015 Feb 5 Warrington Borough Council approved plans for an underground garage with space for 118 vehicles on the former Stretton Airfield site in Appleton Thorn. See Warrington Guardian for more.

2015 Feb 5 Friends and family paid tribute to Warrington Collegiate student and mother Molly Beechall who died of cancer on 13 January 2015, aged 19. Her funeral took place at St Benedict’s Church in Orford.

2015 Feb Bents Garden Centre in Glazebury won three awards at the recent Garden Centre Association conference: best Christmas display in the UK, best restaurant and best plant area.

2015 Feb 6 The owner of a controversial tyre wall in Glazebury Lane, Glazebury has been ordered to pay around £15,000 in fines and costs, but the bales of tyres will stay standing. See Warrington Guardian for more.

2015 Feb 7 Warrington Museum launched a exhibition looking at mental health issues. The display called “De Profundis – from the depths” explored how the arts can help people who are suffering with depression. It was the work of local photographer Pete Regan.

2015 Feb 7 Crowds turned out to say goodbye to Bobo the donkey, one of Walton Hall Children’s Zoo’s oldest residents, who died on 9 December 2014, aged 29.

2015 Feb 8 Warrington Wolves rugby player Richie Myler appeared on ITV’s All Star Family Fortunes with his wife, former Blue Peter Presenter Helen Skelton.

2015 Feb 8 The Warrington Guardian reported that social care for vulnerable adults in Warrington was officially outsourced to Catalyst Choices, a new social enterprise, assumed control of a range of care services.

2015 Feb An unnamed Warrington taxi driver had his licence taken away after he swore at a blind man with his guide dog and refused to take him to his destination. The incident happened in September 2014 and the decision was made after a recent hearing.

2015 Feb Warrington Borough Council’s 20mph speed limit on residential roads across the town has received praise from the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation North West and the Highways Magazine.

2015 Feb 10 The Best of Northern Art Gallery moved from Bank Street to Bridge Street as part of the Time Square/Market redevelopment.

2015 Feb The Swan pub in Winwick reopened after a makeover. The pub was built in the 1880s on the site of a former coaching inn.

2015 Feb The future of Warrington Community Transport, a charity that provides transport for the elderly and disabled on its Dial-A-Ride service, is at risk after Warrington Borough Council cut funding. The charity costs £1,000 a day to run and is used for 30,000 journeys a year.

2015 Feb 10 It was announced that Roger Draper, former chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association, has replaced Andy Gatcliffe as chief executive of Warrington Wolves rugby club.

2015 Feb Councillor Tony Higgins performed the official opening of the extension to RRRRe-Vamp’s shop on Orford Lane. The shop recycles second-hand goods to support the unemployed and people with mental health issues.

2015 Feb 12 A cardboard cut-out of TV comedian John Bishop was placed in Golden Square as part of the build-up to the 2015 Comic Relief Red Nose Day. The idea is that people can donate £1 to the cause by using Barclays contactless technology.

2015 Feb 13 A cannabis farm, which had the potential to make £6m in a year, has been shut down following an early morning raid by officers. The drugs factory, which was discovered in the former nightclub, Club Wired, on Mersey Street, held more than 1,600 cannabis plants.

2015 Feb It was announced thatWarrington Borough Council was ranked third out of 23 authorities in the north west for finding 16 and 17 year olds a place in education and training in 2014. In England, out of 152 authorities, it came 15th for the September Guarantee.

2015 Feb (7) The Elm Tree pub on Chapel Lane, Burtonwood was demolished. In January 2014 the owner cancelled an application to have it turned into an asset of community value after inspections found 22 serious faults and a flooded cellar. See the Warrington Guardian report. See a photo on Flickr of the demolition.

2015 Feb 14 Love Warrington, a campaign to promote the town as a visitor destination, was launched at Golden Square Shopping Centre. Groups around the town were asked to use #LoveWarrington to spread the word. See Facebook for more.

2015 Feb The Best of Northern Art was officially opened on Bridge Street in the town centre by the Mayor of Warrington, Councillor Ted Finnegan and his wife Mavis. The project provides a space for people with additional needs to display and sell their artwork, with some proceeds going to the MacIntyre charity. The building closed in 2017 in preparation for the new Bridge Street Quarter development.

2015 Feb 16 A lorry carrying bricks caused extensive damage to a stone bridge over the Bridgewater Canal near the Walton Arms pub.

2015 Feb 16 Craig Stockman, a former finance boss at LiveWire and Culture Warrington was jailed for 16 months for stealing £29,000 over a nine-month period to feed his £150 a day cocaine habit. At the time he was responsible for pushing through staff cuts to the two not-for-profit companies which look after the town’s libraries and museum services.

2015 Feb 19 Warrington resident Geoff Lloyd from Appleton appeared on Channel Four’s Come Dine With Me.

2015 Feb 19 Culcheth apprentice Ben Gafner, aged 27, received two awards from World Superbike and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here winner Carl Fogarty. Ben was awarded Advanced Apprentice of the Year and the Mechanical Technical Support award for his excellent work at Nuvia during Training 2000’s annual Engineering Awards. See a photo at the Warrington Guardian.

2015 Feb A new running club was launched at Victoria Park in Latchford. The club also includes Warrington parkrun on a Saturday at 9am. See https://philipharland.wixsite.com/vprcnew for more.

2015 Feb Culcheth High School held its first science, technology, engineering and maths fair, which was supported by companies from across the UK. 1,100 pupils spoke to 60 professionals from 22 organisations.

2015 Feb The Coastal Communities Fund awarded £654,000 to Warrington and Halton’s Linking the Locks project, a scheme to promote business opportunities on the Sankey (St Helens) Canal between Spike Island at Widnes to Fiddler’s Ferry Marina.

2015 Feb Burtonwood Catholic Club launched a Facebook site to encourage residents to share photos and memories of their lives growing up in the village. Link to Facebook.

2015 Feb 23 The funeral took place of brave 14-year-old Eve Shepherd, who was born at 28 weeks on 9 July 2000 and needed a tracheostomy due to problems with her breathing. She attended Birchwood High School and passed away on 1 February 2015. Read more in the Warrington Guardian.

2015 Feb 26 Orford dad Carl Tickle from Cheshire Brush is featured in the Warrington Guardian for his hand-painted covers used in the Wimbledon tennis championships.

2015 Feb Warrington Borough Council’s campaign to oppose tolls on the Mersey bridges at Runcorn receives support from 256 businesses in the town. Read more in the Warrington Guardian.

2015 Feb (26) Developer Satnam won a High Court battle which could see houses built on the site of Peel Hall in north Warrington. Residents have opposed the idea, which would need planning permission. This is the latest in a long line of battles over the land which locals say is the only remaining green area in north Warrington.

2015 Feb 27 Health regulator Monitor announced an investigation into finances at Warrington Hospital. The investigation sought to understand why the trust’s finances had deteriorated and whether it had a credible plan to improve them. The trust was forced to make £11.9 million in cuts at a time when it was taking in more patients. See the full story at Warrington Guardian online.

Mar 2015

2015 Mar 2 Warrington Wolves‘ new chief executive Roger Draper took up his new post at the stadium. He was previously the head of the Lawn Tennis Association until 2013, the year of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win. He quit the post in 2016 to become chief commercial officer at the Rugby Football League and an executive director of Super League.

2015 Mar 2 New laws came into force in England and Wales making it illegal to drive after taking certain drugs. Police officers in Warrington welcomed the changes.

2015 Mar 4 Crime writer Ann Cleeves, famous for the Vera novels adapted for broadcast on ITV, visited Lymm Golf Club for a talk and book-signing as part of Lymm Festival.

2015 Mar 4 The Warrington branch of charity Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support) was launched in the town. See the Warrington Guardian for more.

2015 Mar 4 Prime minister David Cameron confirmed to Warrington South MP David Mowatt that the government is committed to building two bridges over the Mersey in Warrington to ease traffic congestion.

2015 Mar 4 Warrington’s first free school, King’s Leadership Academy in Woolston, was awarded the regional winner for the North-West in the Department for Education Character Awards. A free school is a school set up by an organisation or individuals with funding from central government, but not controlled by the local authority.

2015 Mar 5 The Warrington Guardian reported on the opening of a not-for-profit community shop in Rixton. The Village Shop opened after local residents requested a convenience store for the village as the nearest one was three-and-a-half miles away.

2015 Mar 5 Bent’s Garden Centre in Glazebury announced that staff and customers had raised £12,292 during 2014 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity.

2015 Mar 8 The Warrington Guardian reported that train operator First TransPennine Express unveiled a new multi-use cycle parking system and cycle wheeling ramps at Warrington Central station. The scheme cost £35,000. But a week later passengers said they were pretty useless because the ramps to assist with wheeling their bikes up the stairs are too close to the wall. Have a look yourself at the Warrington Guardian.

2015 Mar 10 Warrington Collegiate student Stephen Greenall, 19, appeared on the BBC3 programme World’s Toughest Jobs as he took on the role of a skyscraper window cleaner.

2015 Mar 12 The front page story of the Warrington Guardian says that NHS bosses in the town have been forced to advertise in Indian newspapers to recruit temporary agency staff to cover staff sickness.

2015 Mar 12 The ‘Time for Business’ clock which had stood in Time Square since 1984, was saved from demolition by PJ’s Jewellers in Warrington Market. The clock was originally positioned on the building occupied by Warrington Trading Standards and the jewellers plan to renovate it.

2015 Mar 17 TV drama Ordinary Lies was broadcast on BBC1. The six part series was filmed at various locations in Warrington and starred Jason Manford, Max Beesley, Michelle Keegan and Mackenzie Crook. See the Events page for more.

2015 Mar 20 Burtonwood Community Centre launched a weekly Eat and Meet project to encourage people of all ages to meet up and enjoy a range of activities.

Events from now will be
updated as soon as possible

May 2015

2015 TUE MAY 10 mywarrington website 10th birthday

2015 May 25 Warrington Horse Show took place at Tabley Park at Knutsford. The origins of the event go back to the late 1880s. In 1927 it was held at Walton Park with Sir Gilbert Greenall as president. It was run by the Warrington Agricultural Society as a tradesman’s event for them to show their working horses and cattle and there were showing classes for Hunters and Ponies and a Jumping class with a first prize of £20! For more about the event’s history see their website.